14 Karnataka rebel MLAs disqualified for defying whip

Bengaluru: A day before the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified disqualified 14 rebel legislators of the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for defying their parties whip to attend the House on July 23.

The 14 MLAs had failed to attend the House on July 23, when former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy moved the confidence motion and lost by 6 votes.

“As the remaining 11 Congress and 3 JD-S rebel legislators defied their respective party whip by absenting from the Assembly on July 23 when the motion was to put vote, they have violated the anti-defection law,” the Speaker told reporters as one of the reasons for disqualifying them under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.

Three rebel Congress legislators were disqualified on July 25 for defying their party whip issued to attend the Assembly and vote in favour of the motion former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy moved on July 18 but lost on July 23 by 6 votes.

New Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has to prove his majority in the state Assembly on Monday.